2009 Tour de France

2009 Tour de France
Carte Tour de France 2009.png
Tour de France 2009 - Course Outline
Race details
Dates 4–26 July
Stages 21
Distance 3,459.5 km (2,150 mi)
Winning time 85h 48' 35" (40.31 km/h/25.05 mph)
Palmarès
Winner  Alberto Contador (ESP) (Astana)
Second  Andy Schleck (LUX) (Team Saxo Bank)
Third  Lance Armstrong (USA) (Astana)

Points  Thor Hushovd (NOR) (Cervélo TestTeam)
Mountains  Franco Pellizotti (ITA) (Liquigas)
Youth  Andy Schleck (LUX) (Team Saxo Bank)
Team Astana
2008
2010 →

The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco. The race visited six countries: Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy, and finished on 26 July on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

The total length was 3,445 kilometres (2,141 mi),[1] including 93 kilometres (58 mi) in time-trials. There were seven mountain stages, three of which had mountaintop finishes, and one medium-mountain stage.[2] The race had a team time trial for the first time since 2005, the shortest distance in individual time trials since 1967, and the first penultimate-day mountain stage in the Tour's history.

2007 winner Alberto Contador won the race by a margin of 4′11″, having won both a mountain and time trial stage. His Astana team also supplied the third-place finisher, Lance Armstrong, and took the team classification.[3] Andy Schleck, second overall, won the young riders' competition as he had the previous year, and Franco Pellizotti took the polkadot jersey as the King of the Mountains. Mark Cavendish won six stages, including the final stage on the Champs-Élysées, but was beaten in the points classification by Thor Hushovd, who consequently won the green jersey.[4]

Contents

Race overview

The race started in Monaco with a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) individual time trial, won by Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara, who retained the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification throughout the first week, which was dominated by stages suited primarily to sprinters, with Mark Cavendish establishing himself as the strongest finisher. The significant action of the first week in relation to the overall classification was restricted to a split in the field on stage 3, and a team time trial the following day.

The second weekend saw the Tour in the Pyrenees, and the first attack on the field by eventual winner Alberto Contador, while the leadership was taken over by Rinaldo Nocentini. Thor Hushovd showed an ability to take points in stages that did not include flat sprint finishes that would be key to the contest for the points classification, and the main contenders for the mountains classification emerged. The journey towards the Alps the following week had a second pair of successive stage wins for Cavendish and a series of wins from riders in breakaways that held no threat to the general classification. An infringement in the sprint finish to stage 14 saw Cavendish relegated in finishing position, and Hushovd gaining the upper hand in the points classification.

The first alpine stage was the occasion of Contador's assumption of the race leadership, and the emergence of Andy Schleck as the only rider likely to challenge him in the mountains, and as the top young rider, giving Schleck the right to wear the white jersey. Franco Pellizotti focussed on collecting points on the climbs early in stages to overhaul Egoi Martínez in the race for the mountains classification, without threatening the race leaders. By the end of the three stages in the Alps, and after Contador's victory in the final time trial, it was only the minor placings that were realistically under question in the last mountain stage, held for the first time on the penultimate day of the tour on Mont Ventoux. Lance Armstrong, the seven time winner of the race who had returned from retirement, finished that stage ahead of his rivals for third place on the podium to secure that position.

The UCI introduced a ban on radio communication between team management and riders on stage 10, but the riders responded with a conservative style of racing for most of the stage and the intended repetition of the experiment on stage 13 was abandoned.[5]

At the victory ceremony, the national anthem of Denmark was mistakenly played instead of that of Spain.[6] Contador described the incident as an "enormous blunder" at a post-Tour press conference in Madrid.

Teams

20 teams were invited to take part in the race. They include 17 of the 18 UCI ProTour teams (all except for Fuji-Servetto) and three other teams: Skil-Shimano, Cervélo TestTeam and Agritubel. Each team started with 9 riders, making a total of 180 participants, of whom 156 finished.

The 20 teams invited to the race were:[7]

  • Ag2r-La Mondiale
  • Agritubel
  • Astana
  • Bbox Bouygues Telecom
  • Caisse d'Epargne
  • Cervélo TestTeam
  • Cofidis
  • Euskaltel-Euskadi
  • Française des Jeux
  • Garmin-Slipstream
  • Team Katusha
  • Lampre-NGC
  • Liquigas
  • Quick Step
  • Rabobank
  • Silence-Lotto
  • Skil-Shimano
  • Team Columbia-HTC
  • Team Milram
  • Team Saxo Bank

Riders

Favorites for the race included 2008 winner Carlos Sastre, 2007 winner Alberto Contador, 2009 Giro d'Italia winner Denis Menchov and two time runner-up Cadel Evans.[8] Lance Armstrong, the seven-time winner from 1999 to 2005, came out of retirement and competed in the race on the same team as Contador. Menchov and Evans performed far below the levels expected of them, finishing 51st and 30th respectively, and Sastre only showed briefly among the leaders on the mountain stages that would have provided his best chance of making a bid for victory, coming 17th overall.

Alejandro Valverde, the team leader of Caisse d'Epargne, was not selected by his team for the Tour de France, because the race travelled through Italy on stage 16. Yet, He received a ban in May 2009 from the Italian Olympic Committee, prohibiting him from competing in Italy. He had finished in the top ten of the general classification of the Tour in the two previous years and was considered one of the favourites for overall victory.

News about a positive retest of a 2007 out-of-competition control concerning Thomas Dekker broke three days before the start; his team Silence-Lotto immediately withdrew him from the starting list.

Stages

Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1 4 July Monaco 15.5 km (10 mi) History.gif Individual Time Trial  Fabian Cancellara (SUI)
2 5 July Monaco to Brignoles 187 km (116 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
3 6 July Marseille to La Grande-Motte 196.5 km (122 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
4 7 July Montpellier 39 km (24 mi) History.gif Team Time Trial Astana
5 8 July Cap d'Agde to Perpignan 196.5 km (122 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Thomas Voeckler (FRA)
6 9 July Girona, Spain to Barcelona, Spain 181.5 km (113 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Thor Hushovd (NOR)
7 10 July Barcelona to Andorra-Arcalis, Andorra 224 km (139 mi) Mountainstage.svg Mountain Stage  Brice Feillu (FRA)
8 11 July Andorra la Vella to Saint-Girons 176.5 km (110 mi) Mountainstage.svg Mountain Stage  Luis León Sánchez (ESP)
9 12 July Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes 160.5 km (100 mi) Mountainstage.svg Mountain Stage  Pierrick Fédrigo (FRA)
13 July Rest day
10 14 July Limoges to Issoudun 194.5 km (121 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
11 15 July Vatan to Saint-Fargeau 192 km (119 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
12 16 July Tonnerre to Vittel 211.5 km (131 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Nicki Sørensen (DEN)
13 17 July Vittel to Colmar 200 km (124 mi) Mediummountainstage.svg Medium mountain stage  Heinrich Haussler (GER)
14 18 July Colmar to Besançon 199 km (124 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
15 19 July Pontarlier to Verbier, Switzerland 207.5 km (129 mi) Mountainstage.svg Mountain Stage  Alberto Contador (ESP)
20 July Rest day
16 21 July Martigny, Switzerland to Bourg-Saint-Maurice 159 km (99 mi) Mountainstage.svg Mountain Stage  Mikel Astarloza (ESP)
17 22 July Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand-Bornand 169.5 km (105 mi) Mountainstage.svg Mountain Stage  Fränk Schleck (LUX)
18 23 July Annecy 40.5 km (25 mi) History.gif Individual Time Trial  Alberto Contador (ESP)
19 24 July Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas 178 km (111 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
20 25 July Montélimar to Mont Ventoux 167 km (104 mi) Mountainstage.svg Mountain Stage  Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP)
21 26 July Montereau-Fault-Yonne to Paris Champs-Élysées 164 km (102 mi) Plainstage.svg Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
TOTAL 3,459.5 km (2,150 mi)

Classification leadership

Stage Winner General classification
Yellow jersey
Points classification
Green jersey
Mountains classification
Polkadot jersey
Young rider classification
White jersey
Team classification
Jersey with yellow number
Combativity award
Jersey with red number
1 Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara Alberto Contador Roman Kreuziger Astana no award
2 Mark Cavendish Mark Cavendish Jussi Veikkanen Stef Clement
3 Mark Cavendish Tony Martin Samuel Dumoulin
4 Astana no award
5 Thomas Voeckler Mikhail Ignatiev
6 Thor Hushovd Stéphane Augé David Millar
7 Brice Feillu Rinaldo Nocentini Brice Feillu Christophe Riblon
8 Luis León Sánchez Thor Hushovd Christophe Kern Ag2r-La Mondiale Sandy Casar
9 Pierrick Fédrigo Egoi Martínez Franco Pellizotti
10 Mark Cavendish Thierry Hupond
11 Mark Cavendish Mark Cavendish Johan Van Summeren
12 Nicki Sørensen Team Saxo Bank Nicki Sørensen
13 Heinrich Haussler Thor Hushovd Franco Pellizotti Heinrich Haussler
14 Sergei Ivanov Ag2r-La Mondiale Martijn Maaskant
15 Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Andy Schleck Astana Simon Špilak
16 Sandy Casar* Franco Pellizotti
17 Fränk Schleck Thor Hushovd
18 Alberto Contador no award
19 Mark Cavendish Leonardo Duque
20 Juan Manuel Gárate Tony Martin
21 Mark Cavendish Fumiyuki Beppu
Final Alberto Contador Thor Hushovd Franco Pellizotti Andy Schleck Astana Franco Pellizotti

After stage 1, Fabian Cancellara was leading both the general and the points classifications. In stage 2, he wore the yellow jersey. Alberto Contador was placed second at the time in the green jersey points classification, but was the leader in the king of the mountains classification, and so forfeited the right to wear the green jersey. As a result, the third placed rider in the opening time trial, Bradley Wiggins wore the green jersey on stage 2.[9]

* Stage 16 was originally won by Mikel Astarloza, who was found after the Tour to have tested positive for EPO before the race had started.[10] The organisers have stripped him of the stage win, and former number two Sandy Casar became the official winner.[11]

Final standings

[12]

General Classification

Rider Team Time
1  Alberto Contador (ESP) Contador was awarded the final yellow jersey as general classification winner Astana riders were awarded the final yellow numbers as team classification winners Astana 85h 48′ 35″
2  Andy Schleck (LUX) Schleck was awarded the final white jersey as youth classification winner Team Saxo Bank + 4′ 11″
3  Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana riders were awarded the final yellow numbers as team classification winners Astana + 5′ 24″
4  Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Garmin-Slipstream + 6′ 01″
5  Fränk Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank + 6′ 04″
6  Andreas Klöden (GER)Astana riders were awarded the final yellow numbers as team classification winners Astana + 6′ 42″
7  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas + 7′ 35″
8  Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Slipstream + 12′ 04″
9  Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas + 14′ 16″
10  Christophe Le Mével (FRA) Française des Jeux + 14′ 25″

King of the Mountains Classification

Rider Team Points
1  Franco Pellizotti (ITA) Pellizotti was awarded the final polka dot jersey as mountains classification winnerPellizotti was awarded the overall combativity prize Liquigas 210
2  Egoi Martínez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 135
3  Alberto Contador (ESP) Contador was awarded the final yellow jersey as general classification winner Astana riders were awarded the final yellow numbers as team classification winners Astana 126
4  Andy Schleck (LUX) Schleck was awarded the final white jersey as best young rider winner Team Saxo Bank 111
5  Pierrick Fédrigo (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 99
6  Christophe Kern (FRA) Cofidis 89
7  Fränk Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank 88
8  Mikel Astarloza (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 86
9  Juan Manuel Garate (ESP) Rabobank 86
10  Sandy Casar (FRA) Française des Jeux 84

Points Classification

Rider Team Points
1  Thor Hushovd (NOR) Hushovd was awarded the final green jersey as points classification winner Cervélo TestTeam 280
2  Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team Columbia-HTC 270
3  Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram 148
4  José Joaquín Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 126
5  Nicolas Roche (IRL) Ag2r-La Mondiale 122
6  Óscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank 119
7  Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 110
8  Franco Pellizotti (ITA) Pellizotti was awarded the final polka dot jersey as mountains classification winnerPellizotti was awarded the overall combativity prize Liquigas 104
9  Alberto Contador (ESP) Contador was awarded the final yellow jersey as general classification winner Astana riders were awarded the final yellow numbers as team classification winners Astana 101
10  Andreas Klöden (GER) Astana riders were awarded the final yellow numbers as team classification winners Astana 89

Young Riders' Classification

Rider Team Time
1  Andy Schleck (LUX) Schleck was awarded the final white jersey as highest placed young rider winner Team Saxo Bank 85h 52′ 46″
2  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas + 3′ 24″
3  Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas + 10′ 05″
4  Pierre Rolland (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom + 33′ 33″
5  Nicolas Roche (IRL) Ag2r-La Mondiale + 34′ 09″
6  Brice Feillu (FRA) Agritubel + 37′ 03″
7  Peter Velits (SVK) Team Milram + 42′ 24″
8  Chris Anker Sørensen (DEN) Team Saxo Bank + 45′ 36″
9  Tony Martin (GER) Team Columbia-HTC + 50′ 53″
10  Yury Trofimov (RUS) Bbox Bouygues Telecom + 1h 04′ 50″

Team classification

Pos. Team Time
1 Astana Astana riders were awarded the final yellow numbers as team classification winners 243h 56′ 04″
2 Garmin-Slipstream + 22′ 35″
3 Team Saxo Bank + 28′ 34″
4 Ag2r-La Mondiale + 31′ 47″
5 Liquigas + 43′ 31″
6 Euskaltel-Euskadi + 58′ 05″
7 Française des Jeux + 1h 01′ 48″
8 Cofidis + 1h 05′ 34″
9 Team Katusha + 1h 13′ 57″
10 Agritubel + 1h 20′ 38″

Money classification

[13]

Pos. Team Earnings
1 Astana €697,050
2 Team Saxo Bank €362,850
3 Liquigas €156,360
4 Garmin-Slipstream €151,870
5 Team Columbia-High Road €102,300
6 Cervélo TestTeam €86,710
7 Bbox Bouygues Telecom €63,470
8 Ag2r-La Mondiale €54,730
9 Euskaltel-Euskadi €49,820
10 Cofidis €40,690

World Rankings points

The following points were earned in the Tour towards the 2009 UCI World Ranking.

Rider Team Nationality Stage Overall Total
Contador, AlbertoAlberto Contador Astana  Spain 64 200 264
Schleck, AndyAndy Schleck Team Saxo Bank  Luxembourg 22 150 172
Cavendish, MarkMark Cavendish Team Columbia-HTC  United Kingdom 126 126
Armstrong, LanceLance Armstrong Astana  United States 4 120 124
Schleck, FränkFränk Schleck Team Saxo Bank  Luxembourg 24 100 124
Wiggins, BradleyBradley Wiggins Garmin-Slipstream  United Kingdom 8 110 118
Klöden, AndreasAndreas Klöden Astana  Germany 4 90 94
Nibali, VincenzoVincenzo Nibali Liquigas  Italy 10 80 90
Vande Velde, ChristianChristian Vande Velde Garmin-Slipstream  United States 70 70
Astarloza, MikelMikel Astarloza Euskaltel-Euskadi  Spain 26 40 66
Kreuziger, RomanRoman Kreuziger Liquigas  Czech Republic 60 60
Hushovd, ThorThor Hushovd Cervélo TestTeam  Norway 56 56
Casar, SandySandy Casar Française des Jeux  France 20 30 50
Le Mével, ChristopheChristophe Le Mével Française des Jeux  France 50 50
Farrar, TylerTyler Farrar Garmin-Slipstream  United States 36 36
Cancellara, FabianFabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank  Switzerland 30 30
Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Telecom  France 26 26
Feillu, BriceBrice Feillu Agritubel  France 26 26
Ivanov, SergueiSerguei Ivanov Team Katusha  Russia 24 24
Karpets, VladimirVladimir Karpets Team Katusha  Russia 24 24
Nocentini, RinaldoRinaldo Nocentini Ag2r-La Mondiale  Italy 4 20 24
Freire, ÓscarÓscar Freire Rabobank  Spain 22 22
Juan Manuel Gárate Rabobank  Spain 20 20
Haussler, HeinrichHeinrich Haussler Cervélo TestTeam  Germany 20 20
Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne  Spain 20 20
Nicki Sørensen Team Saxo Bank  Denmark 20 20
Voeckler, ThomasThomas Voeckler Bbox Bouygues Telecom  France 20 20
Pellizotti, FrancoFranco Pellizotti Liquigas  Italy 18 18
Van Den Broeck, JurgenJurgen Van Den Broeck Silence-Lotto  Belgium 2 16 18
Ciolek, GeraldGerald Ciolek Team Milram  Germany 16 16
Ignatiev, MikhailMikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha  Russia 16 16
Roche, NicolasNicolas Roche Ag2r-La Mondiale  Ireland 14 14
Goubert, StéphaneStéphane Goubert Ag2r-La Mondiale  France 12 12
Kern, ChristopheChristophe Kern Cofidis  France 10 10
Lefèvre, LaurentLaurent Lefèvre Bbox Bouygues Telecom  France 10 10
Martin, TonyTony Martin Team Columbia-HTC  Germany 10 10
Renshaw, MarkMark Renshaw Team Columbia-HTC  Australia 10 10
Rojas, José JoaquínJosé Joaquín Rojas Caisse d'Epargne  Spain 10 10
Sastre, CarlosCarlos Sastre Cervélo TestTeam  Spain 10 10
Txurruka, AmetsAmets Txurruka Euskaltel-Euskadi  Spain 10 10
Botcharov, AlexandreAlexandre Botcharov Team Katusha  Russia 8 8
Chavanel, SylvainSylvain Chavanel Quick Step  France 4 4 8
Hutarovich, YauheniYauheni Hutarovich Française des Jeux  Belarus 8 8
Feillu, RomainRomain Feillu Agritubel  France 6 6
Fröhlinger, JohannesJohannes Fröhlinger Team Milram  Germany 6 6
Hincapie, GeorgeGeorge Hincapie Team Columbia-HTC  United States 6 6
Lemoine, CyrilCyril Lemoine Skil-Shimano  France 6 6
Roulston, HaydenHayden Roulston Cervélo TestTeam  New Zealand 6 6
Dumoulin, SamuelSamuel Dumoulin Cofidis  France 4 4
Duque, LeonardoLeonardo Duque Cofidis  Colombia 4 4
Efimkin, VladimirVladimir Efimkin Ag2r-La Mondiale  Russia 4 4
Fothen, MarkusMarkus Fothen Team Milram  Germany 4 4
Larsson, GustavGustav Larsson Team Saxo Bank  Sweden 4 4
Maaskant, MartijnMartijn Maaskant Garmin-Slipstream  Netherlands 4 4
Martínez, EgoiEgoi Martínez Euskaltel-Euskadi  Spain 4 4
Van Avermaet, GregGreg Van Avermaet Silence-Lotto  Belgium 4 4
Velits, PeterPeter Velits Team Milram  Slovakia 4 4
Arashiro, YukiyaYukiya Arashiro Bbox Bouygues Telecom  Japan 2 2
Evans, CadelCadel Evans Silence-Lotto  Australia 2 2
Millar, DavidDavid Millar Garmin-Slipstream  United Kingdom 2 2
Minard, SébastienSébastien Minard Cofidis  France 2 2
Pineau, JérômeJérôme Pineau Quick Step  France 2 2

Doping

In the 2009 Tour, Doping controls were conducted by the UCI, with the French body AFLD shadowing the process. Officials targeted top riders like Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador with an unprecedented amount of tests.[14] While the Armstrong-Contador conflict ruled the headlines, reporting on doping rather took a back seat during the race. The news that Giro runner-up Danilo Di Luca had a positive A probe in the Giro did not change that.[15] Five days after the race finished the UCI announced that that initial Stage 16 winner Mikel Astarloza tested positive for EPO in an out-of-competition test on June 26, eight days before the race started.[16] Later, Astarloza was removed from the results, and the stage win transferred to Sandy Casar.[11]

References

  1. Augendre, Jacques (2009). "Guide Historique" (in French) (PDF). Amaury Sport Organisation. http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/COURSE/docs/histo2009_06.pdf. Retrieved 30 September 2009. 
  2. "The Tour 2009". LeTour.fr. http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/COURSE/us/le_parcours.html. Retrieved 2008-10-22. 
  3. "Contador seals 2009 Tour victory". BBC Sport. 2009-07-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/8169503.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
  4. "How the 2009 Tour was won". BBC Sport. 2009-07-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/8169657.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-27. 
  5. "Cycling-UCI lift earpieces ban for Tour 13th stage". yahoo.com. 2009-06-18. Archived from the original on 2009-08-16. http://www.webcitation.org/5j5MqtJum. Retrieved 2009-06-30. 
  6. "Contador unfazed by anthem mishap at Tour ceremony". http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/cycling/wires/07/26/2080.ap.cyc.tour.de.france.anthem.foulup.0191/index.html. 
  7. "The 20 teams selected". LeTour.fr. 2009-03-17. http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/COURSE/docs/cp_2009_03_17_us.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-18. 
  8. The Tour de France Ladder
  9. "Tour de France 2009 Regulations". LeTour.fr. http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/COURSE/docs/reglement_fr_us.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-06. 
  10. "Astarloza tests positive for EPO, UCI says". Velo News. Archived from the original on 2009-08-16. http://www.webcitation.org/5j5MrsQCi. Retrieved 2009-07-06. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 Augendre, Jacques (2010). "Guide Historique, Part 4" (in French). Amaury Sports Organisation. http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/COURSE/docs/guide_touristique_2010_histoire_4.pdf. Retrieved 7 September 2010. 
  12. "Tour de France - 2009". Archived from the original on 2009-08-16. http://www.webcitation.org/5j5MrLK6x. Retrieved 2009-07-31. 
  13. "Bijna 700 000 euro voor Astana" (in Dutch). Tourdefrance.nl. 26 July 2009. http://www.wielercentrum.com/tourdefrance/nieuws/2009/Bijna-700-000-euro-voor-Astana-4462.html. Retrieved 29 July 2009. 
  14. "Armstrong on doping: 'I think I've answered the question'". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/07/27/paris.lance.armstrong/. Retrieved 2009-07-27. 
  15. "Italian Di Luca fails doping test". BBC. 2009-07-22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/8163587.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
  16. "Astarloza tests positive for EPO, UCI says". Velo News. Archived from the original on 2009-08-16. http://www.webcitation.org/5j5MrsQCi. Retrieved 2009-07-31. 

External links